


Fireworks

by Waters



Category: Ouran High School Host Club - All Media Types
Genre: Love Confessions, M/M, Misunderstandings, Weddings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-19
Updated: 2015-07-22
Packaged: 2018-04-10 03:51:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,833
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4376165
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Waters/pseuds/Waters
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tamaki needs a date to his mother's weddings. Kyoya would be the perfect candidate, if only Kyoya knew he was trying to ask him out.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [lonelyprinces](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lonelyprinces/gifts).



> Talk to me. Seriously about anything. I always appreciate feedback and if you have any comments or concerns but if you want to talk about your pet turtle go ahead. I also have a [tumblr](http://www.stories-n-things.tumblr.com)

Tamaki needed a date. Well, not a date in general. What he needed was someone to go with him to his parents’ wedding. He was in the bridal party and his mother had, very heavily, hinted that he should bring someone. Tamaki really hoped that she wasn’t expecting Haruhi.

“I was wondering,” Tamaki said. He leaned against the couch, arm dangling off the back. Kyoya sat beside him, typing away on his laptop and all but steadfastly ignoring the movie on the television screen in front of them. “I need to bring a date to my parents wedding. I was wondering if you wanted to…”

“Help you find a date?” Kyoya asked, eyes not moving.

“No, go with me.”

“Instead of a date?” This time Kyoya turned to look. “Sure.” Tamaki opened his mouth to correct him, to tell him he wanted Kyoya _as the date_ not _instead of_ but Tamaki just smiled and nodded.

“Thanks.” This felt like being seven again and going out to eat with his grandparents on special occasion, agreeing to eat wherever his grandparents took him, even though he just wanted to eat at home. Tamaki groaned internally and rested the back of his head against the coach. He looked up at the ceiling in his room, tracing the patterns and moulding.

One day Tamaki was going to ask Kyoya out properly. One day Tamaki was going to be firm and mature and just go for it. It’s not like Kyoya hadn’t sent receptive signals. Or they’d seemed like receptive signals. Tamaki hung off Kyoya more often then not, wrapped his arms around Kyoya’s waist, linked their arms, and snuggled up close to him on couches. And Kyoya always seemed fine with it, but then he also always tried to brush him off. One minute he’s be completely relaxed, allowing Tamaki to snake his arms around Kyoya waist, and then, without tensing or really asking or talking about it Kyoya would push him away. But then Tamaki would do it again and Kyoya never _asked_ him to stop later. Did that mean he was okay with it? Was he trying to be say he was okay with Tamaki liking him, but didn’t reciprocate?

“You’ll have to come with me tonight to a family thing. My mom’s side is flying in for a couple of days and they want to meet everyone.”

“Sure.” Kyoya was still looking at the computer. Tamaki sighed and blew a strand of hair out of his face.

“Also I have this new suit, but I’m worried the shoulders are too big so I was hoping you could help me with that before I took it to a tailor for no reason.”

“Okay.”

“And I need to take Antoinette for a walk.”

“Alright.”

“You want to make out?”

“Okay,” Kyoya stopped typing a second to late. Somehow, he had seemed to sense that the topic had changed without his knowledge. It was impressive, the way he could ignore Tamaki while still responding. Tamaki hated it, but it was still impressive. Slowly Kyoya turned to Tamaki, like he was trying to gauge if what he thought he heard was what he heard. Tamaki just raised an eyebrow.

“Could you repeat that last thing you said?”

“Which one?”

Kyoya narrowed his eyes. “Honestly,” Kyoya muttered under his breath and turned back to the screen. His hands hovered in the air an inch from his keyboard. He sighed and turned back to Tamaki. “Could you just repeat everything?”

“My mom’s side of the family is flying in and you and I will have to go meet them. It’s really important to me that you go. I…I want everything to go perfectly for my mom, she’s gone through so much. They’re family Kyoya…” Family was everything. Tamaki knew Kyoya had a complicated relationship with the concept, but they were best friends, surely Kyoya would understand.

“I’ll go. I don’t speak French though so I don’t know how helpful I’ll be,”

“A lot of them speak English. And then you’ll have to go with me, a few days later to the big wedding shower with both sides of my family. Even though the weddings in Japan my mom insisted we have a shower since she’s not going to have a bachelorette party.” Tamaki loved French weddings. Japanese weddings were too short, how could someone really enjoy themselves and mingle in two hours? In France there was the registrations at city hall, then the church, a small midday break, cocktails around three where people would take pictures and wait at the venue until the dinning room was opened and then there would be dinner at eight and then sometimes an additional midnight buffet. That was a party. Tamaki was excited just thinking about it.

“I’m going to go. Don’t worry I won’t back out.” Kyoya patted Tamaki’s knee twice, then paused, his hand warm on Tamaki’s leg. He removed his hand slowly, deliberately, like he was trying to stop himself from yanking it away. What the hell was going on in Kyoya’s mind? Sometimes Tamaki was so certain about Kyoya’s thoughts and other times he didn’t even know if Kyoya liked him at all.

Tamaki blew air through his nose hard as Kyoya went back to ignoring him. Well, that wasn’t going to cut it. Tamaki started to tickle Kyoya. He was fast and he knew all of Kyoya’s weak spots.

“Pay attention to me!”

“You’re not a dog…” Kyoya laughed. His laugh was still deeply unsettling, but cute in its own way. Kyoya’s smile was honest and when his hair was messy and his eyes were real, not clouded by masks, that was when Kyoya was the most beautiful.

“I invite you to watch movies with me and you’re not even watching!” Tamaki tickled him again and Kyoya focused only on placing his laptop on the table. Then he turned to Tamaki and grinned. Kyoya fought dirty, going for Tamaki’s neck immediately, trying to stop the fight before it even began.

Tamaki grabbed Kyoa’s shoulder and tried to pin Kyoya’s arms to the sofa to prevent Kyoya from reaching him. Tamaki’s heart was thudding and something warm was creeping up his spine. No. This wasn’t what that was about. Tamaki shook himself, but Kyoya broke free and pounced, ticking Tamaki’s neck until Tamaki was laughing so hard he couldn’t breath.

“I submit. I submit. You win.” Tamaki wheezed between laughs. Kyoya pulled back, satisfied. His glasses were askew his shirt was wrinkled and his hair was a mess. Tamaki wanted to kiss him, to thread his fingers into Kyoya’s hair and just pull him in close. He swallowed and sighed again.

“I don’t know why everyone thinks you’re so much smarter than me, or more mature. From my perspective, it’s about even.” Tamaki shook his head. Kyoya snorted, but didn’t reach for his laptop, instead he leaned back against the couch, half pressed into Tamaki’s side. Kyoya couldn’t _not_ know, could he? Tamaki had thought he was dense about his own feelings, but it looked like Kyoya had beaten him.

 

 

Tamaki had seen most of his relatives sometime between earning his grandmother’s approval and the announcement of his parents’ wedding. That didn’t mean that he had made up for all the years he had missed. Each aunt and uncle and cousin (who weren’t literal aunts or uncles or cousins, but probably second cousins or third aunts or something) had decided they needed to borrow Tamaki personally and catch up.

There had been two options. Introduce them to Kyoya, or let Kyoya fend for himself in a sea of foreign strangers. And really, Tamaki could use the company. All his family was staying at the second Suoh mansion, which should have at least been comforting in its familiarity.

“My, my,” his cousin Belle said in accented English. “You’re grown both tall and smart, I didn’t know you were studying economics _and_ psychology at university.” She was grasping Tamaki’s shoulder. Kyoya was smiling politely, looking to Tamaki and wondering when the polite time to bud in was. Not yet.

“Yes, I thought it would be important to understand people from both those kinds of perspectives you know, and I have such a deep love for people and understanding…” Tamaki tried to think of a polite way to say that economics was boring and psychology was a lot more interesting. It also wouldn’t look good if he admitted he was just taking psychology for fun.

“And your…Kyoya was it?” Cousin Belle asked. Her smile was morphing from the innocent wilting flower it had been to a serpent underneath. Really Tamaki should not have been thinking about Macbeth at a time like this, but Cousin Belle’s had always been suspicious.

“Ootori—Kyoya Ootori.” Kyoya smiled. Fake. Too wide.

“Ah, thank you. You two are very cute together, I hope I see more of you at the wedding, but alas, Uncle Jacque looks like he must speak to you immediately.” Belle waved a sultry toodle-o and Tamaki was at a loss.  He tried to smile before he took in the full implication of Belle’s words. She thought he and Kyoya were a couple.

Uncle Jacque didn’t come over, instead he made some elaborate hand signals that Tamaki took to mean he wanted to speak to Tamaki later, when Tamaki had time and was more relaxed. Some of his family members were more considerate than others. But why was Uncle Jacque winking at him?

No. Did Jacque think they were together too?

Part of him knew he should immediately tell Kyoya. Kyoya would definitely want to know, Kyoya who would be livid about any kind of speculative rumours getting out about him.

Tamaki tried to laugh it off, but as the day grew longer and faces blurred together Tamaki pressed more and more into Kyoya’s side, played with Kyoya’s shirt buttons and ruffled his hair into perfect messiness. This wasn’t helping. But Kyoya was fine with it, so it couldn’t have been that bad. Kyoya met everyone’s stare confidently, he laughed at everyone’s bad jokes and poked Tamaki playfully in the side whenever someone teased Tamaki, which was often.

Tamaki was just beginning to think he could get through things when his mother called them over. She ushered them immediately to the basement, shushing them whenever they tried to ask questions. When Tamaki and Kyoya arrived, Tamaki finally found the few cousins his age playing pool and darts.

His mother winked at him before pulling him in for a hug. Tamaki didn’t let go. At one point, his mother did, but Tamaki wasn’t willing to move. He was probably embarrassing himself, but it was only family in this room, and Kyoya who was close enough.

“I’m never letting you go.” Tamaki mumbled quietly in French. “Never again.” He was taller than his mom, so he buried his face into the side of her head, feeling her chuckle.

“I know sweetie, I won’t ever let anyone take you.” Her arms came back up around him and they stayed like that for a few minutes. “I do have to go back up, but I’ll come down, okay?” She leaned away from Tamaki and pinched his nose. Her smile didn’t quite reach her eyes. His mother left. Maybe he should follower her, stick close by her side. But she probably had other things to do. She had a life outside him, a life she was trying to recover and Tamaki didn’t want to bother her.

When Tamaki turned back to his cousins, none of them were laughing at him. In fact, all of them were looking away, averting their eyes, mouths pressed firm, and fingers tapping idly. They felt sorry for him. No matter of teasing from other relatives could hide this fact. From the moment he had left, they were always going to see him as the tragic cousin, poor Rene Tamaki who had been forced into such a terrible situation. Kyoya would have hated it, would have complained about it and let it seethe, let it grow inside him into rage. Tamaki wasn’t sure what to do with it, what to do with this distance they had placed between them.

“I don’t know how to play pool.” Tamaki confessed in English. Which was a lie that everyone in this room, but Kyoya knew. “Kyoya doesn’t either, but if you show me, maybe I could teach him?” He slung his arm around Kyoya’s waist, and he knew what they would think.

Cecile would think he was trying to show off in general but everyone else would think of him like any other teenage boy trying to impress his love interest. He wasn’t going to be poor Rene Tamaki, taken from his mom. He was going to be Tamaki, teenage boy with a date.


	2. Chapter 2

Kyoya hadn’t been prepared for the Grantaine family get together. He was even less prepared for the wedding shower.

“Why are we the only guys here?” Kyoya hissed. He was seated beside Tamaki, at a little table with both of Tamaki’s grandmothers. A few feet away, at a longer table Anne-Sophie, and her maid of honour Nneka, and the bridesmaid sat, eating and smiling.

“See this is why you had to come with me.” Tamaki said. “If you weren’t here, I would have been the only guy and I that wasn’t going to happen. Not that I mind being surrounded my a lovely group of ladies and family but…” Tamaki trailed. “Wedding showers are usually a girl’s thing, apparently, but it’s my _mom.”_ Tamaki shrugged.

Kyoya sighed and took a drink of water. Tamaki’s French grandmother, Rejeanne was staring daggers at Shizue. Tamaki kept trying to break the tension but Rejeanne and Shizue were both content to let a pretend language barrier stop their communications. Neither confessed to knowing English. At least Shizue looked almost apologetic at points. Rejeanne just started with pure, unbridled hatred.

Tamaki’s laugh did not break the tension.

“Ootori. How are you studies going?” Shizue asked. Kyoya put the glass down and tried to speak as concisely and respectfully as possible. Tamaki’s knee kept brushing his under the table. As surreptitiously as he could, Kyoya reached to stop Tamaki’s knee from moving. He could feel Tamaki’s leg pressed beside his and when Kyoya removed his hand, Tamaki’s leg stayed still against his leg.

Kyoya took a drink of water. Why was his mouth so dry? His hands were sweating and his heart was starting to beat faster. Shizue kept staring at him. Kyoya swallowed.

“All and all I am making substantial progress.” He said. Shizue only nodded.

“You know, I hadn’t expected you to be so…open.”

“Pardon me?”

“I meant no offense, I assure you, but you seem, much like your father, like such a private person I did not expect to see you here. Though I suppose most of the attendees of the wedding will be unaware.”

Kyoya had no idea what she was talking about. He looked to Tamaki, but Tamaki was still chatting with his other grandmother.

The rest of the wedding shower was filled with all sort of idle games and light food. The French were all delighted and the Japanese participants alternated between vaguely confused and excited. Apparently, bridal showers weren’t even classical French traditions anyway, but something new and exciting that Anne-Sophie had wanted to try.

 No one said anything about Kyoya being one of the only guys there, but he could sense the looks. Kyoya ducked out to the patio once people started to get up from their seat. He leaned against the metal fence and looked out into the sunset. His family was so different from Tamaki’s. Like grains of sand scattered on the wind, never to be whole again. At least, Tamaki’s family, for all its divisions, was together. It was a solid unit. Kyoya wanted that.

Tamaki joined him some time later, bumping Kyoya’s hip and smiling. “You okay?” He asked. Kyoya said nothing. He stared at the sunset, yellow and red, blurred together. It was beautiful, the kind of thing Tamaki would like, and in fact was appreciating.

“I’m fine.” Should he mention the sunset? But Tamaki would know. Tamaki leaned into his side and Kyoya wanted to lean back, to bask in the warmth, the closeness. He stood still.

“Everyone’s leaving soon, Antoinette, my cousin not my dog, is going to drive back with us. She doesn’t have a mom so she came here with my mom before we got here. Her dad’s waiting at the house.”

Kyoya nodded.

“Have you been to many weddings?” Tamaki asked.

“Almost all my siblings are married. It was very different though. Everything was more formal, but less …expensive.”

“I know,” Tamaki chuckled. “It’s a little ridiculous. Even when I lived in France, when my mom and I were rich, we were never _Suoh_ rich. When…when I first came here I got an allowance. Three hundred thousand yen a month. I don’t think my grandmother even thought anything of it. I saved all of it, you know. I didn’t spend any except when I tried to pay Haruhi’s debt. I was…I thought, if I was ever kicked out and had to go live with my mom, I would need that money for her treatment. 36,000 euros a year for four years was nothing to them. Nothing.”

Kyoya nodded. It didn’t seem like _that_ much money, but to treat it as nothing more than a few dollars…the Ootoris would never be that wealthy. Not unless Kyoya did something about it.

Tamaki leaned his head on Kyoya’s shoulder, the heat radiated off him. Kyoya was content right then, staring out at the sunset, Tamaki on his arm. This shouldn’t be so great. This wasn’t that big of a deal. Kyoya sighed.

 

 

Antoinette insisted they stop for ice cream. Or that’s what it sounded like. She kept leaning in her seat, face pressed against the window and pointed excitedly at every ice cream shop they passed. Finally, Anne-Sophie asked Yuzuru to pull over and Antoinette practically feel out of the car. Tamaki explained what was happening and Kyoya only nodded.

The shop they went to had little booths, and Kyoya and Tamaki’s family squeezed into one as everyone except Kyoya ate their ice creams.

“Are you sure you don’t want any?” Tamaki asked, spoon in his mouth. He had brought two spoons with him, but Kyoya just shook his head.  He tried to listen to the dual conversation, half in French, half in Japanese. Needless to say, he was lost. But for some reason he didn’t mind it as much. When his brothers were talking about something he didn’t understand, he was always alert, always desperately trying to figure out what was being said. But now? It didn’t matter.

Kyoya picked up the extra spoon and tried a bit of Tamaki’s sundae when he thought no one was looking.

“It’s good isn’t it?” Tamaki asked. Kyoya wondered if he should put the spoon back. Instead, he turned to face Tamaki. The booth was only meant for two people on each side, but with Antoinette crammed on the end, Kyoya had been pressed up against the wall for most their stay here. When he turned to face Tamaki, he could smell the caramel on Tamaki’s breath, and feel Tamaki’s exhale acutely across his cheeks.

“It’s ice cream. It’s not bad I suppose. Once your dad is finished, are we just going to head home?” Kyoya meant to say head back to the Suoh’s mansion, but Tamaki didn’t notice the slip.

“Antoinette heard someone talking about fireworks at a park nearby. She really wants to go and my mom is for it, but my dad’s not sure.” Tamaki lowered his voice and moved so he was speaking directly into Kyoya’s ear. Kyoya tried not to shiver. “We’ll probably end up going, my dad’s a pushover.” Tamaki drew back and winked and Kyoya tried to act like he wasn’t internally screaming.

He shouldn’t have been screaming. But something in Kyoya’s mind was setting off alarm bells. Who knew what the bells were for, but they were off, doing things. He watched Tamaki eat out of the corner of his eye and smiled absently. It was strange, behaving like a commoner, eating ice cream, and walking to fireworks displays as a group. But it wasn’t bad. It was better than sitting at home alone, doing nothing. Kyoya supposed symphonies would still be infinitely better than eating ice cream at a parlour, but even commoners attended symphonies on occasion.

Every so often Kyoya would steal a bite of Tamaki’s sundae, but he wasn’t hungry. He didn’t quite know why he did it, but Tamaki would smile every time he did and Kyoya’s stomach would be suddenly lighter. Fluttering.

Maybe the ice cream was making him light headed.

 

 

Even though it was dark and they didn’t know where they were, Yuzuru agreed to see the fireworks, if only for a few minutes. Anne-Sophie and Tamaki politely inquired about the parks location while Antoinette hung off Kyoya’s arm, smiling and dragging him everywhere Tamaki went.

She didn’t know any Japanese, or much English, so it was hard to communicate with her, but somehow Kyoya seemed to understand exactly what she wanted. She pulled him with her, dragging him harder than Tamaki ever had, until they finally reached the park. The fireworks were already underway, lighting the sky green and blue and yellow.

The patterns were elaborate. Kyoya didn’t know what they were celebrating, but someone had put a lot of thought into this. Kyoya turned to Tamaki, watching the fireworks cast his face in red and green and gold. His hair seemed translucent in the dark, picking up the colours overhead. His eyes were fixed upwards and Kyoya smiled. Something fluttered in his stomach and Kyoya wanted to reach out and run a hand through Tamaki’s hair. Kyoya took a step forward, disengaging Antoinette before he realized what hew as doing.

Kyoya froze, eyes glued to Tamaki, taking in the shadows splayed across his face, his cheekbones, his jawline. Kyoya stared at his neck, wanting to run a nail along this throat.

 _Oh no_.

Kyoya wondered if he approached Tamaki, if he stood next to Tamaki, would Tamaki lean into him like earlier? Would they watch the fireworks like they watched the sunset, warm and close and content?

_Oh damn._

Kyoya was definitely in love in Tamaki.

 _Fuck_.

 

 

Anne-Sophie pulled Kyoya aside when they got to the Suoh mansion. For one irrational moment, Kyoya wondered if she had guessed at his revelation. He was still sweating thinking about it, unsure about what to do.

Suddenly Shizue’s word came racing back.

“I didn’t expect you to be so open about it.”

She had thought he was dating Tamaki. Probably, the whole wedding shower thought he was dating Tamaki. All of Tamaki’s family thought he was dating—wait. If they thought they were dating…but they’d been okay with him. Did that mean…

“There’s something I wanted to talk to you about, Kyoya.” Anne-Sophie ushered him into an empty sitting room. Kyoya’s heart was pounding in his chest. “I think there’s been a misunderstanding. Most people seem to think you’re Tamaki’s date. I tried to clear up any confusions, but I know how sensitive you are about these things.”

Kyoya’s exhale was as long as it was loud. He leaned back against the chair and closed his eyes. Anne-Sophie had tried to clear up any confusion. She wasn’t here to hound him about his crush on her son.

A wave of relaxation passed through Kyoya, except one part of him. One part of him was still turning, still trying to find an angle. He should ask Anne-Sophie about Tamaki. She knew him best, she would know how Kyoya should confess—if he should confess. Kyoya opened his eyes, it was a gamble though, telling anyone this.

Kyoya wasn’t used to letting people know him. But this could be his chance. He trusted Anne-Sophie. In his own way, Kyoya was a lot closer to her than his parents, given, of course, that one was dead.

“There’s something I want to ask you.” Kyoya let the words hang there. Anne-Sophie sat down and folded her hands into her lap. She was grinning and her hands were clenched so hard around one another Kyoya knew she was probably restraining herself.

She knew.

Kyoya opened his mouth. Here went everything.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Big Romantic Gestures

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Speak words at me. Or type them. I love hearing feedback and comments! You can leave them here or at my [tumblr](http://www.stories-n-things.tumblr.com) and they can be about ANYTHING.

 

Tamaki frowned. Kyoya had been weird the entire rehearsal dinner. Just a few days before the wedding he’d stopped returning Tamaki’s calls as well. At first Tamaki had thought that Kyoya had finally realized everyone thought they’d been a couple, but now he was sure it was something else.

Yesterday, Tamaki had taken Kyoya shopping with him for his mother’s wedding present and Kyoya’s reaction had been even stranger. Kyoya hadn’t been angry at Tamaki for not telling him about people’s misconceptions, he hadn’t been worried that Kyoya’s father would find out, Kyoya had been nervous, but a weird sweaty nervous that Tamaki hadn’t seen on him before.

When they had gone shopping, Kyoya had kept wiping his palms on his sleeves, crossing his arms or sticking his hands in his pockets.

“Are you okay?” Tamaki said. Kyoya nodded. He picked up a figurine and examined it minutely. Tamaki had wanted to get his mom some commoner art, something nice and bold. He was leaning towards a metal sculpture of a tree with birds roosting in it. The piece was as big as Tamaki and he wasn’t sure how he was going to bring it anywhere, but he loved it. “Are you sure you’ll be fine for the wedding?”

Tamaki watched Kyoya’s gaze dart from the sales associate staring at them, back to the figurine. “I’m just feeling warm. I might have a fever but that should pass in a few days.” Kyoya shrugged. Tamaki bit his lip and made his way through the store.

There were all kinds of things here, metal works mostly, some lopped wire that looks like bonsai trees or birds, or a full person in one case. There were many nature themed pieces.

The sales associate might have thought “the wedding” was Tamaki and Kyoya’s wedding. They were old enough, though twenty was a young age to get married. Still, Kyoya hadn’t reacted this way to his family’s assumption that they had been together. Was this because Kyoya hadn’t realized it? Surely, he had…

Tamaki stood next to Kyoya, linking there arms and leaning in. “That figurine emphasises the pubic triangle on that women too much to be an appropriate wedding gift I think. Especially for my mom.” He lowered his voice. He contemplated blowing in Kyoya’s ear, trying to get a reaction from him, but that felt wrong. He wasn’t trying to host Kyoya. Kyoya didn’t shake him off or lean into him, the two standard reactions. Instead, he stood frozen and Tamaki disengaged himself.

Tamaki wanted to get him mom something meaningful. When they had first started to loose money, the first things to go had been the artworks. Painting that had been in the family for generations (well not his family, but other families!) were sold.  They had been so beautiful and he knew how much his mom had loved them. He remembered their trips to the _Louvre_ or to art galleries all over the world. At first, he thought to write her a song, but having a song meant someone would have to be there to play it. And he wouldn’t always be there to play it for her. Tamaki worried she wouldn’t always be well enough to do it herself. A sculpture though, she could look at that anytime and remember he had picked it out.

He’d written her a song anyway though, something hand made and something permanent.

“You keep looking at the tree, are you thinking that’s the one?” Kyoya asked. Tamaki looked at him, really looked. He was sweating, Tamaki could see it in the back of his neck, on the side of his face. Tamaki leaned in and placed a hand on Kyoya’s forehead, watching Kyoya’s eyes widen, and his posture stiffen.

Kyoya didn’t feel warm.

Something wasn’t right.

And then, the next day, Tamaki had gotten the call to meet Kyoya at botanical gardens. Tamaki frowned. He was going to get to the bottom of his.

 

 

His mother was talking on the phone to someone. Tamaki had gone to tell her he was leaving for the botanical gardens, but was now eavesdropping.

“Don’t worry, relax, this is all taken care of. Everything will be fine by the wedding and I’ll set everything straight.” His mom said. She was speaking Japanese, so that limited who she could be talking to.  “I said it would work out, didn’t I? Don’t you trust me?” his mom chuckled. “You’ll have a date to the wedding, just _confess_ I’m sure Tamaki will help it along, in his own way.”

Tamaki furrowed his brows and knocked on the door. His mother stopped talking on the phone, kissed Tamaki on the head and told him to have a good time. But Tamaki couldn’t stop thinking about her phone conversation.

When he arrived at the garden, forty minutes early, he contemplated waiting, or actually stopping to view some of the flowers.

The gardens were housed both inside and out, with a towering, brightly coloured conservatory in the front. Tamaki headed into that, marching to the top floor. Kyoya had said to meet him around the side, near the back.

When Tamaki got to the top, he found a window to look out of. He saw Kyoya pacing from the side of the gardens to the back. Kyoya was fidgeting and wringing his hands. Interesting. In the back of the garden, there was a carefully arranged table and some giant flower display Tamaki couldn’t see from this angle. It was the perfect place to confess to someone. Was Kyoya confessing to someone and wanted Tamaki’s help? Was that why he was nervous? He was getting himself a date?

Tamaki chewed his lip and shook his head. He watched Kyoya pace until he couldn’t bear it anymore and ran to the back. Kyoya seemed to have heard the noise and came running too.

“Tamaki! You came the wrong wa—” Kyoya tripped and careened into the flower display. Tamaki looked up at the white ad purple plant wall, he had a moment to appreciate the multitude of flowers, and the beauty of the arrangement (though he didn’t have much time to try and read the few characters spelled out in red roses) before the whole thing wobbled and fell, smashing the dinner table.

Petals flew into the air, drifting slowly downward. Tamaki was aware that a violin had stopped playing, though he wasn’t sure how long it had started.

Kyoya sank to his knees, eying the carnage. White petals were clinging to his hair and the air smelt thick and cloying, like dying plants. Shredded blooms were still floating.

“So, who were you going to confess to?” Tamaki tried to avoid looking at the mass of crushed flowers, but it was hard. Even in their demise, they were still colourful. A delicate reminder of the fragility of man. Or something.

Kyoya lifted his gaze to stare at Tamaki, mouth hanging open.

“Well—well you arranged all these things. Music. Flowers. Some sort of food.” Tamaki tried to smell it, but the fragrance of the flowers, especially the lilacs (his favourite), was overpowering. “I figured…well it seems like a date and you don’t already have a…a thing…a person.”

Kyoya got gingerly to his feet and tried to brush some plant matter from his suit. It looked like something the Hitachiin would design, something too flashy for a wedding.  The suit was black and white, a gentle, dotted gradient that almost looked like the galaxy.

“If…if they’re getting here soon I could help…” Tamaki started. Kyoya was staring at him. “ I could help you…” Kyoya was still staring. “It was me. It was me and I was supposed to go around to the side so you could show me this yourself… whoops.” Tamaki laughed. He ran a hand through his hair and climbed over the flower monstrosity to Kyoya. Kyoya didn’t move.

“This isn’t funny.”

“It’s a little funny.” Tamaki got to Kyoya’s side and linked their arms together. “It would have been really nice.” Kyoya snorted. “Besides it could be worse. You could have asked me out and then I didn’t realize it and thought we were going to the wedding as friends and then everyone else thought we were together except you—I mean me.”

“So...” Kyoya adjusted his glassed. Tamaki brushed some lilacs from his hair. “You accept. You’ll—you agree that we should date.”

“I will be your boyfriend, yes.” Tamaki leaned into Kyoya’s side and kissed him on the cheek. “We can have dinner somewhere else. A commoner restaurant.”

“I’ll stand out.” Kyoya said. He twisted in Tamaki’s grip so they were facing face to face. Tamaki dropped his arms around Kyoya’s neck and kissed his nose. “I’m in a suit.” Kyoya continued. Tamaki kissed him on the mouth. He closed his eyes and imagined things had gone the way the Kyoya wanted. Lilacs and violin music in the background. Some thoughtful speech prepared.

Kyoya’s lips were soft, but he wasn’t a very good kisser. Tamaki didn’t have much experience either, but it was quickly clear Kyoya was lost. Tamaki couldn’t help, but chuckle.

“You know it’s really not polite to laugh. I tried to have some big romantic gesture that you’d love but—”

“I love it. I do. I love it and I love you.” Tamaki kissed him again, tilting his head and burying one hand in Kyoya’s hair.

“Well. Good. Excellent.” Kyoya said between kisses. Tamaki leaned his forehead against Kyoya’s shoulder and tried not to laugh. He was so awkward and Tamaki loved it.

“I especially like the suit.”

“Me too.”

Tamaki smiled. “You usually dress so badly, so this is a nice surprise.” Kyoya withdrew from their hug and hit Tamaki’s shoulder. “Cargo shorts Kyoya, really? Hawaiian shirts and cargo shorts? And what do you have against sleeves? Sleeves are you friend.” Tamaki bit his lip to stop himself from laughing and Kyoya rolled his eyes.

“You know, you’re not starting your tenure as my boyfriend very well by being rude to me.” Kyoya pressed his lips into a firm line, but Tamaki knew he was trying not to smile.

“I have tenure?” 

Kyoya snorted and Tamaki knew everything was going to be fine.

“We should get going,” Tamaki said. “We have things to do, find a place to eat, clean up this mess. It’s not like we have all day. We have a date after all.”


End file.
